The mysterious box that I wasn't expecting in the mail.

Wha....?

If you can't read the writing, this package came courtesy of the nice folks at Nestle!

Inside was (from top left) a magazine, an Avent bottle (yay!), some samples, a can of formula, a gel ice pack, a "baby on board" sign, a pack of Carnation Instant Breakfast for the busy mom, and some coupons.

Thanks Nestle!

In other news, I haven't been posting for a week because I've been pretty much in bed for the last week. On Wednesday the innocent little Braxton-Hicks contractions I'd been getting randomly decided to start coming more regularly- in fact one every hour. When this happened from 9:30am through to 2:30pm, I called the case room of the hospital where I will be delivering, and they asked me to go in right away. I went in and wound up being there until 9pm. With the monitor hooked up it showed contractions every 20 minutes or so. They made me drink a pitcher of water to try and stop them, and instead they increased to every 10 minutes, then every 4 minutes (but eventually stayed at around every 6-10 minutes). Finally around 7:30pm they gave me an IV with a huge rush of fluids, and that stopped them for about 45 minutes. The last 15 minutes I was there I did have 3 strong ones, but by that point they had checked me twice and I still wasn't dilated- meaning I was having contractions but not in labour. At that point they said I could go home but to stay home from work until next week (I should have returned yesterday). (By the way, the reason that labour would not be a good thing right now is because I was only 27 weeks pregnant! They would have had to give me a shot to try and boost the development of the baby's lungs and so on, and/or medications to forcibly stop the contractions).

The contractions continued about every 40 minutes on Thursday, and randomly but regularly on Friday (10 minutes, 20 minutes, 7 minutes, 15 minutes, 11 minutes, etc...) When they hadn't let up by Saturday we decided to call the case room again and they asked us to come back. Luckily I was only there for about 2 hours this time, as the same doctor checked me out as had on Wed and I still wasn't dilated so he wasn't worried that I would start labour. He pulled me off of work for another week, then I got to go home and vegged the rest of the weekend with Yannick.

On Sunday we had an open house here to try and sell our place, so I took Sam and went to hang at my parents' house for the two hours it took. I'd been doing a LOT of knitting to get the project done in time for JCA and it was nice to take a little break and just sit and talk to people, since I'd been home alone since Thursday morning.

I did the same old bunch of nothing but knitting on Monday, but yesterday was a big running around day. As luck would have it I had my monthly ob-gyn appointment on Tuesday, so I knew I could ask her about the contractions (which were now stuck at every 20-30 minutes since Monday morning). Yannick was already in CSL so I drove down to meet him at my dad's store. We gave his friend Kevin my car to drive home, and Yannick and I went to the appointment. After all the stress of the last few days it was great to hear that she's not worried about them at all. She checked again and still no dilation, so she said she's not concerned at all that I won't carry fully to term. Everything else looks good, although I did lose another pound since the last time I saw her.

From there we went to my optometrist as he wanted to check out my eyes during pregnancy, what with all the hormones and the Impaired Glucose Tolerance, both things that can affect your prescription and/or your vision. Everything was fine there too, but he'd had to dilate my eyes completely so I spent the next 2 hours with sunglasses on even though it was after 5:30pm in Winter when it was already dark out, and had Yannick laughing that my eyes looked like black marbles. I was going to try to take a photo but decided that the flash would be a horrible idea so just picture my eyes with no colored area, just the entire circle part black. (Yes, I'm a bad optician's daughter who doesn't know the names for all the parts of the eye).

Lastly last night we had our 2nd prenatal class. It was a lot of fun and was all about breastfeeding. I learned so much stuff! So many myths and misconceptions were cleared up, plus we all got to sign up for breastfeeding "buddies" from a volunteer program who will be like mentors if there are any problems. There was an amazing video that showed a newborn(!) baby placed on its mother's belly immediately after birth and left there, skin-to-skin for 2 hours. After 2 hours the baby CRAWLED(!!!!) directly to the mother's breast and latched properly and began nursing. Amazing the instincts we are all born with! It was a super-informative class and I'm so glad that Yannick is coming with me to them! (It was also really funny when one of the dads-to-be had to pin on a cloth boob and demonstrate how to hold and approach the baby to get a good latch. He was a great sport!).

So now I'm home until Tuesday. I still have work to do on the JCA knit but it's blocking right now and pretty wet so I will take advantage of the time to get some baby knits done, and veg my little butt off.

Oh- and I'm officially starting my Third Trimester today! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Labels: baby, JCA

Labels: baby, JCA

This is the progress on the Clown Cardigan. (I call it that because it was original designed for Clown sock yarn, and I'm too lazy to come up with a better name). At the last photo I believe I had only been up to the neckline decreases on the first cardi front, so as you can see I have finished that side and the other cardi front. This was worked on both Tuesday night at the MKG meeting and in the car on Wed when my dad drove me to work 'cus of the bad snow storm we had (why take a chance and drive when I can get driven and knit??).

This is the progress on the entrelac blankie. I LOVE this project! I love everything about it. I doubt you can tell but there are two complete rows (one blue and one white) done since the last photo. I also remembered to take the photo BEFORE starting the next row so I could lie it out flat and take a proper photograph. I worked on this in the car on the way up north on Sunday as my family went up to spend the day with Yannick's family and his sister's family, and then again by the fire during the day as a bunch of them went out to ski and snowboard (they live on Mont Blanc ski hill). I don't ski. I don't snowboard. I wouldn't even if I wasn't pregnant. "Hi, I'm Jennifer and I'm a klutz." Enough said. So yeah- 2 rows done on Sunday. Woo hoo.

This I'm really impressed with. At the last photo I was about 10 rows from the top of the STUVW row (oh, and there are 6 rows of blocks, not 4 as I'd said previously). Now I've completed not only that row but the NOPQR row above it! I worked on this on and off in the mornings before leaving for work.

Last but not least are some squares for a mitered square baby blanket I'm working on. I completely stole the inspiration, idea and some of the directions from Shelly Kang's wonderful blankie and Britknitter's (Dianne) gorgeous blankie. Some of the yarn are my own leftovers and some were graciously given to me for trade or sold to me, or just given. A huge thank you to everyone who gave me their bits and odds and ends of sock yarn or similar weight. (If you've got more I'd love to take it off of your hands!) The biggest variation I've come up with on Dianne and Shelly's patterns is that I am going to fill in the edges with triangles to make a complete square once done. I still have tons of that black Sisu sock yarn so I will use that to provide a unified border (I don't have the patience for an i-cord border like Shelly, gorgeous as it is!). That bunch in the middle are already attached, and the others will be somewhere along the bottom row. I'm just working on placement for a bit because I didn't realize that they all had that blue and white bit and I don't want it to look like they were all from the same ball in squares side-by-side, so I'll have to make up a few others to go in between. In any case, more photos on this as it progresses.

Ok, now I have to leave for work. Have a great day!

Labels: baby knits, Clown Cardigan, Debbie Bliss Alphabet Blankie, Entrelac Blankie, Mitered Square Blankie, Sam, WIP

this post is removed until further notice. :)

Labels: FO, MKG, Rowanspun

I am thisclose to finishing the Knitter's Gloves. They are due Tuesday night at the monthly guild meeting, and since I only have minor stuff like sewing on snaps and weaving in ends left, I am going to put it off until Monday so I can get some more fun knitting in. I had been knitting the gloves with black Sisu sock yarn and the chance to work on anything with color is so thrilling right now! First up is the Debbie Bliss Alphabet Blanket. I used my provisional cast-on adaptation (that's the yellow cotton on the bottom). I'm using an acrylic from Wal-Mart. I know, I know, acrylic + baby blankets = bad news in case of a fire. I will make sure to keep my baby away from all fires when this blanket is around. Because of the charts this is NOT portable knitting. The charts are easy to follow but I enjoy keeping this at home for when I have a good chunk of knitting time. I'm about 3/4 of the way through the second row (from the bottom) of 4 alphabet rows, then comes the tedious part of knitting a sideways border around. I'm thrilled with how it is coming out, though, and really enjoy working on it. It's got a chart but it's kind of mindless at the same time- a really nice combination.

This is the blue and white entrelac blankie of my own design. Ok, I didn't make up entrelac, but I decided how big the blocks should be, how many stitches to cast on, and I will make up some kind of border (I'm thinking either garter strips or a full garter border with mitered corners) once the main body is done. I'm using Patons Decor in the two shades and I love it! It's nice and squooshy and I find that the blue and white combo is so crisp that it works equally well for a boy or girl. My favorite color is blue, anyways. This is completely mindless knitting so I had kept it in my (large) purse to carry around for waiting rooms and car trips until I had the deadline for the Knitter's Gloves. Now that those are (almost) done this comes back in the rotation. I really want to have the baby stuff knit before the baby gets here, and what with the move and all I'm worried I'll run out of time.

This is the "Clown Cardigan", so named for the Clown sock yarn the pattern was written for. I'm using one of the Regia Canadian colors...I forget which one right now. This jumbled mess (from being squished in the bag for a few months) is the back and most of one of the front pieces.

I am making one minor change to the pattern. It is supposed to be knit with the knit side being the right (as opposed to wrong) side.

The knit side.

After much consideration, I find that with the subtling changing variagation in this colorway, I much, much prefer the purl side. So I have adapted the decreases and any other pattern notes to be done on the NEW wrong side - the knit side.

The purl side.

There's just something cute and scruffy...less "polished" about the purl side.

On the house front we had another visit this afternoon. I haven't heard from our agent yet to see how it went, but it is rather exciting to have such interest so soon. Scary too...there might have been a small part of me that didn't want there to be any interest so we could just wait out the time then get ready for baby here in the home we've lived in for the last 5 years. But I want a larger house, and I want a garage, and a separate dining room, and I know that while it will be hard at first, it will be over soon and so worth it in the end. So it's ok. But still strange.

Think this looks scary? I did, last week when they gave it to me. My glucose levels were high so I had to go in and speak with a dietician. If I understood what they said, at the 2nd glucose test, the 75g one, you have to fast over night then go in and have your blood taken. Then you drink 75g of this nasty, orange-soda-resembling, syrupy liquid. Then you wait an hour, then they take your blood again. Then you wait ANOTHER hour, and they take your blood again. Then you get to go home and pig out 'cus you are so hungry at this point.

I had done that test a few weeks ago, after having done the 50g test on Jan 9th (at the 50g you only do no fasting, drink 50g of the stuff, wait an hour and do 1 blood test. It's to see if you need to bother going for the 75g.) My levels were slighly high, so I had to go for the 75g. Now, here's how I believe it breaks down. If 2 or more of your results from the 75g are high, (so 2 or 3 out of 3) then you are considered as having Gestational Diabetes. If only 1 of the 3 blood tests comes back as being high, then you have Impaired Glucose Tolerance. I could be wrong, but I believe the nurse told me that IGT doesn't have as high risks as GD, for example it is more likely to go away after you give birth, and it doesn't have as high a risk of you getting Type II Diabetes later on in life. I'm not 100% sure about that, though. In any case, I have IGT. My initial test, after fasting over night, was high.

Last Monday I was given that lovely little kit up there, and an rx for lancets, test strips and keytone testing sticks, met with a dietician, and found out that for the rest of the pregnancy I need to test 4 times a day: first thing in the morning, 1 hr after breakfast, 1 hr after lunch and 1 hr after supper. I also need to eat 3 full meals and 3 snacks a day- hard for me right now 'cus I've had NO appetite since being pregnant.

Anyways, my baby's health is the most important thing, so for the last week I've been following this plan, recording what I eat and my sugar levels (although I did make myself a new form in Excel because theirs was NOT user-friendly to me and I knew I could do better). I was pleasantly surprised to find out that pricking my fingers to test doesn't actually hurt at all, although if I look closely at my fingertips I can see a bunch of fading red dots.

I thought I was doing ok.

Trust me...that kit up there does NOT look scary at all when you are faced with this:

Yeah. Insulin.

Turns out I have been doing a great job at watching what I eat. My daytime levels are great. Unfortunately my first-thing-in-the-morning levels have been high for 4 of the 7 days I tested. This means my body is not producing enough insulin while it is fasting (overnight while I sleep). I thought that meant I wasn't eating enough at my bedtime snack, or maybe I was eating too much...how do I fix that? Well, apparently it has nothing to do with what I eat. It's just how my body reacts to being pregnant. You know, the nurse, the doctor and the dietician all tried to make it clear to me that it's not my fault, it has nothing to do with what I have eaten, or my lifestyle, or the fact that I was overweight, or anything. It's just how my body reacts. But still...I can't help but feel like I failed. Like I did something wrong and put my baby's health at risk. Let me tell you I was not happy to find out I have to give myself nightly injections, and nearly started crying in front of the doctor.

So the nurse showed me how to load the syringe, flick out the air bubbles, and told me how to inject it. (As an aside- I wonder why I was given an actual syringe and not a trigger-type gun thingy like the finger-pricking tester? Wouldn't that be easier for someone who has never injected themselves with anything?) She couldn't show me how to actually inject it because I have to do it at night before going to bed, after my bedtime snack. Tonight I get to try it out for the first time.

Apparently you can inject on the outsides of either thigh, or the fleshy part on the back of your arm, or the stomach. Now, even though I have the easiest time "pinching an inch" on my stomach, the thought that there is a baby in there does NOT have me wanting to "shoot up" there. Plus I heard it hurts more on the stomach. I have an easy time squishing my upper arm against the back of a chair to find a fleshy spot, but once I have it pinched I no longer have a hand to inject with! (I guess I could keep my arm pushed against the chair to hold the skin up and shoot with the other hand, but that's a little too awkward for me to contemplate at the moment). That leaves the outside of either leg. I can't really pinch anything on my legs but I guess I'll figure it out tonight. I've asked Yannick to be home for moral support but I don't know how well that will go since the only thing he's *afraid* of is needles. (I'm sorry. He's a man. He's not afraid, he just doesn't like them. Forget I said anything about being afraid.)

I'm sure that once I do it once it will be fine, and that the buildup is scarier than actually sticking that thing into my leg. Yeah. By tomorrow I'll be laughing. Unfortunately I have to get through tonight first. I try to tell myself...I did an amnio...I can do this! (I just wasn't the one holding the needle during the amnio...)

I'll post a follow-up tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Let's see if I can get some knitting done tonight and forget about it for a bit.